Closer
by artemis-nz
Summary: Hiroki gets sick, and Nowaki gets an opportunity. Nowaki/Hiroki.


**For vanessasquest, who requested I write something for Hiroki/Nowaki.**

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For all Hiro-san's discomfort with Nowaki's directness, Nowaki thinks that Hiro-san is the more troublesome one.

Hiro-san is hard to predict, in just about any circumstance. He'll wake up in the morning and be grumpy and uncommunicative, so that Nowaki has to remember not to ask if it is something he has said or done. At other times, Hiro-san can be almost demanding in his need for attention (he never actually says anything, but Nowaki can just _tell_). In bed together, Hiro-san is often blushing and bashful, seeming by far the younger of the two. Occasionally however, Hiro-san is impatient and frustrated, practically clawing at Nowaki in his pleasure and his desire for more.

It should have come as no surprise, therefore (even if it did), that Hiro-san is as unpredictable in his welfare as he is with everything else. He had been perfectly healthy, even comparatively cheery, one day, and the next he was flushed with fever, trying (and failing miserably), to hide his condition from Nowaki.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nowaki asks, his voice laced with concern. He cannot comprehend Hiro-san's stubbornness at times. After all, to him, a person's health is one of the most serious things there is. The fact that Hiro-san had first managed to keep his sickened state from Nowaki by outright avoiding him, and had then practically fainted into Nowaki's arms after coming home from work at the University, only adds to Nowaki's distress.

"It's nothing", Hiro-san insists, his words muffled by the pillow he is lying on, face-down.

"It's not nothing. I was worried, Hiro-san!"

Rarely does Nowaki get worked up. It is probably this fact, more than any concern over his own wellbeing, that prompts Hiro-san to answer a little more honestly. "Don't you have enough time at the hospital to worry about sick people without having to think about me as well? Besides. It's _embarrassing_." (It is also a mark of how high his fever must be if Hiro-san is admitting to being embarrassed, although Nowaki tactfully does not bring this up.)

He places a hand on Hiro-san's back instead, rubbing in slow, firm circles calculated to soothe. "Isn't it hard to breathe like that?" he asks instead.

"It's better than seeing the room spin."

"Hiro-san…" It's a gentle admonishment. _Don't make me worry for you more_. Hiro-san gives a huff but eventually rolls over onto his side. Nowaki senses it's as good a compromise as he will get.

"It's too hot", Hiro-san says faintly, closing his eyes.

"I'll get some more water. But Hiro-san, you should stay under the covers. You'll only get worse if your body gets cold." Nowaki rushes out of the room, in part because he wants to do whatever he possibly can to make Hiro-san feel better, and in part because he doesn't want to give Hiro-san the chance to argue.

But perhaps Hiro-san does not feel in any fit shape to do so, because he opens his eyes when Nowaki prompts him to, and gulps down the water without a word of complaint (although he does fidget and glare as best he can when Nowaki pulls up the duvet to cover his shoulders).

Nowaki is about to go and investigate the medicine cabinet in their bathroom for the third time that evening when he feels a slight pull on his arm. Hiro-san has grabbed onto him as he was turning, and upon missing his wrist, has clutched onto his sleeve. "No", he says.

"Hiro-san-"

"Don't fuss", Hiro-san mumbles, and his cheeks redden slightly further. There is, at least (to Nowaki's relief), a trace of the annoyance in his voice that Nowaki is by now so familiar with. "And for god's sake, don't go back into the bathroom. It's late." Nowaki doesn't move, and Hiro-san groans his irritation, that Nowaki is actually going to make him _say_ it. "Stay here", he grounds out, closing his eyes again so that he doesn't have to see Nowaki's expression of pleasant surprise. "With me."

"Alright." Nowaki tries hard to keep the joy from his voice; it'll only embarrass Hiro-san further. As nonchalantly as he is able, he abandons his clothing by the bedside and clambers under the sheets to lie next to Hiro-san. It is a little uncomfortable, being so close to a body that exudes more warmth than it naturally should, but Nowaki quite happily bears it, snuggling up as close as he dares. It is a small price to pay for this, and in any case, he is aware that Hiro-san must be far more discomfited than he himself is. It is just a cold, but for all that Hiro-san's skin is burning, and his hair clings damply to his forehead. Nowaki reaches up to brush it off for him, and is promptly rebuffed.

"I said, don't fuss."

"Sorry, Hiro-san." _I can't help it. I always just want to touch you_.

"Just go to sleep."

"Of course. You too, Hiro-san."

Hiro-san drops off into a fitful doze mercifully quickly; Nowaki hates to see Hiro-san in pain or distress, because quite apart from the fact that Nowaki loves him, Hiro-san is just as fragile, if not more so in some ways, than most people are. Even if Hiro-san is not yet peaceful enough to be able to sleep more deeply, Nowaki is glad if Hiro-san will at least be provided with a brief respite.

Nonetheless, Hiro-san is restless when normally he sleeps like a rock. When he kicks Nowaki, attempting to relieve himself of some of the heat even in his unconsciousness, Nowaki only wraps his legs around Hiro-san's own. Hiro-san will not thank him for his efforts, but then, Nowaki neither expects nor wishes him to. He loves Hiro-san because of who he is, not in spite of it.

And in the morning, Hiro-san's fever is almost gone, vanishing as mysteriously as it came.

"Good morning, Hiro-san", chirps Nowaki cheerfully.

He receives a grunt in reply, but Nowaki is glad to hear him sound surer of himself, even if that sentiment is expressed through grouchiness. No doubt Hiro-san had a rough night (although Nowaki took pains to ensure that Hiro-san will not see the bruise his lover now has, just below his right knee).

"Feeling better now?" _You look more like yourself_. _I'm glad_.

"I guess." Perhaps he is not yet completely recovered though, because Hiro-san actually volunteers some information then. "I dreamt of you."

"Oh!"

Nowaki obviously can't hide the flush of pleasure he receives at this, because Hiro-san growls at him, "Not like _that_, idiot."

"Oh."

And maybe now Hiro-san is taking this as disappointment, because he bites his lip, deciding, before he angles his head up to kiss Nowaki, briefly, before hastily reaching for his coffee.

Nowaki is on cloud nine all day, and experiences a twinge of guilt at catching himself wondering when Hiro-san will get sick again. He settles for writing another letter that he will definitely, absolutely never, give to Hiro-san to read. _I love you_. _You make me so happy_.

Hiro-san looks askance at him when Nowaki wraps his legs around Hiro-san's again that night, but doesn't comment. Nowaki likes to think that Hiro-san is aware, somewhere in his subconscious, of just how close Nowaki felt to him the first night he had fallen asleep like this.


End file.
